Will Smith covers the March issue of Esquire to promote Focus, his heist film with Margot Robbie. Will’s aiming for a comeback after some underperforming films. This is probably Xenu’s fault. Will’s bummed at how After Earth didn’t strike gold. It’s no wonder. Critics described the film was incredibly obvious Scientology propaganda. Hollywood still hasn’t learned lessons from Battlefield Earth. Get thee behind me, Xenu.
This is a long interview. Smith waxes philoshophical about his career, fame, fitness, Ferguson, and parenting. Will’s haven’t attended school in years. Remember the whole quantum physics discussion with Jaden and Willow? They said “education is useless.” Will says Jaden is basically living like a monk (in a fancy mansion) because “the younger generation is less of an ownership generation.” HA. My feeling on Jaden not caring about money is this — it’s easy to think money isn’t necessary when you aren’t hurting for it. Some highlights:
On fame: “I have the spirit of desire to make people’s lives better. Being famous is such a gift for me because small things make people’s lives brighter. You just shake somebody’s hand. You just smile and write your name and people will talk about it for the rest of their lives.”
On Ferguson: “It’s been rough for me trying to find my position in the struggle and where my voice is needed and helpful. You know, I grew up in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia has a really rough police-brutality history. I grew up in a neighborhood where it was very clear that the police were ‘them’ and we were ‘us.’ I also know that when I was seventeen years old, I had a $20,000 car, which made it certain that I got pulled over all the time. I had a red IROC-Z, the full stereo system and the rims and the paint job.”
On staying “cut” at age 46: “I like to look good, but I like my body to function well more than anything. For me, it’s as spiritual and intellectual as it is physical. And emotional. I enjoy pushing myself. There is nothing like having to change your physical form to put you in contact with every weak part of yourself, to train yourself in discipline. You get confronted with all of the things you’ll be confronted with in your marriage, confronted with in your parenting, confronted with in your job. Put somebody on a treadmill and I’ll tell you how good they are at any other thing they do in life.”
On living like a pseudo monk: It’s such a strange thing. Jaden, my sixteen-year-old, he has one pair of shoes. He has three pair of pants and he has five shirts. Total. He has refused to be a slave to money. I so respect that. The younger generation is less of an ownership generation, anyway. And it’s such an interesting thing to watch, because I came from a middle-class background, but, you know, our lights and gas would be cut off from not paying the bill. I grew up in a house where you would need the kerosene heaters in the winter in case the bills didn’t get paid. And he’s from the complete other end of the spectrum. And it’s so interesting to me that from growing up in that space, he could see the need for things in a way that he’s rejecting. He’s like, ‘I’m not gonna let myself need things in that way’ — but I would like him to get another pair of shoes.”
[From Esquire]
Smith also says, “I’m past cars and jewelry, you know? I don’t even wear a watch.” Well not as many people wear watches anymore. Everyone has a clock on their phone. Unless you enjoy wearing a watch or need GPS capabilities, there’s no reason to wear one. Yahoo says Will is full of it because he and Jaden raved about Cartier watches in a 2013 interview.
I don’t think it’s a matter of Will consciously lying about Jaden’s austeric ways. Will is simply clueless and has no idea what’s really going on with his kids. Jaden is extremely materialistic without realizing it. He pitched a fit on Twitter about not being invited to the Grammys. Oh, and he definitely has more than one pair of shoes. Jaden Instagrammed photos of himself wearing both Uggs & Nikes during the past week.
I’m including some photos of Will with Margot at the Focus UK premiere.
Photos courtesy of Jaden Smith on Instagram & WENN
I love him. He was so cute on Jimmy Fallon a few days ago.
Yeah, Will has a great personality–that’s for sure.
Except that he believes his fame benefits people when he writes his name on a piece of paper and makes them happy. While someone like Jolie thinks fame is beneficial because she can bring attention to world suffering. She visits refugee camps, starts a Women’s Center, speaks about war-torn countries. She travels internationally and puts her name – and fame – to truly altruistic use. That Will Smith takes public delight in giving smiles and stories to peasants seems like he’s going with the least common denominator. Which is the height of arrogance and what CO$ is all about.
Exactly Sarah! There are far too many celebrities who think like Will. Try are too scared to support causes and when they do they are generally non controversial ones. Still like Will but…
Sure a great personality…and as has become clear an insufferable, out of touch, fool. Sad really.
So you think you are so great Will because you bring happiness to the masses by shaking a peasant’s hand who will then be blissful for the rest of his life because of you?? OMG the sheer ARROGANCE! I used to like him… but after this interview I won’t ever see another of his movies. And he thinks his millionaire son lives like a monk? Poor baby, in a luxury mansion full of staff, luxury cars, and clothes and crap he probably does not even need to buy – he gets them as part of a promotion or something.
It is easy to w*nk on about not being a slave to money when you millions. He sounds like a fool.
I love Will Smith.
He has a cousin in NJ and one of my relatives was sitting in the yard with his cousin bar-be-queing,, when Will Smith just walked in the back yard, hung out with his cousin, easy, breezy, no frills, no bodyguards, no press. Kickin back with his cuz. South Jersey style.
Is that supposed to be impressive?
I’d like him so much more if I knew nothing about his family and this whole Scientology crap. He’s so charismatic and likeable outside of that.
+1. He was one of favorites but once he opens his mouth about patenting, schooling, etc I just lose that login’ feeling. I think he lost touch.
I’d like him so much more if I knew nothing about his cult affiliation.
Ooh-you edited to include Scientology. I’ll just +1 on your whole statement.
🙂
And he won’t even own up to being a Scientologist because IMO he’s worried it will hurt his bottom line for his movies. But as the article shows, everyone knows anyway. So yes, he is likeable if you don’t look too deep 🙂
I agree with you completely. He lost me 15 years ago when I read an interview in Reader’s Digest of all things. He was so full of himself then. I didn’t know about Scientology back then but in retrospect, it’s clear he was full on Scientologist even back then.
I used to love Will Smith as a kid – he was so cool!
Now, as an adult, he just gives me the sadz :(. He needs to step up and PARENT those kids. And the Co$ thing doesn’t help either.
Well…yeah Willy is pretty likeable…but Jaden is now a slave to Odor Eaters foot powder…I HOPE!
If you can afford it, it’s best to have two pairs of running shoes and alternate them throughout the week. This lets the pair sitting at home air out and dry. You’re asking for a case of foot fungus and smelly shoes if you wear the same pair every day.
As a kid/teen I only ever had one pair of shoes and that never happened. Not everyone grew up with multiple pairs of shoes :S
What a strange thing to lie (misremember) about–especially with the obvious photos.
+1
Ah, it’s the week “misremembering” became a thing. Good times.
Jaden was hanging out with one of the most vain, superficial, materialistic family on the planet the Kardashian clan.
This!!!!
I REALLY think this whole family is just way way way way way out of touch. Will might have some vague memories of not having the heat turned on, but his kids surely don’t. The Xenu is so strong here.
And to think I actually quite liked him before I got to know the menace that is his fake-intellectual kids.
if you think his children are a menace then you take celebrities way too seriously
Perhaps he’s not counting the Uggs as shoes.
Good point lol
No one should lol
Good Point. I don’t count them as shoes.
But still, this is kind of a cringe-worthy interview b/c it just shows how out of touch he is. Is it wrong that I still love him though?
Perhaps but those things don’t come cheap, which really contradicts his point.
i wonder if Will is trying to differentiate between shoes/clothes that the Smiths or Jaden buy themselves vs. shoes/clothes that are given/part of an endorsement.
which is not saying much really.
And really, what does it even matter how many shoes and pants this kid owns when his dad funneled millions of dollars into making a movie for him to star in? Who cares about some shoes when he’s giving his son a career he hasn’t earned (though after After Earth that may be a moot point) and an opportunity to travel the world to events and parties? Can you really talk about your kid’s pants when he was just at Jay-Z’s Grammy party?
This. The kid is more than happy to live off of daddy’s money and have the funds to do nothing and travel anywhere. I have always found the phrase “he doesn’t care about money” to mean that he doesn’t care to work and make money, but enjoys spending someone’s else’s money.
@josephine – so so true, when you are living at home or having your bills paid by someone else of course you don’t care about money.
It’s always the rich ones who are enlightened enough to see how unimportant money is.
Sure.
Jaden may not be into shoes, but he’s still a self-satisfied little twit.
He’s one of those people that I’m so sad is a scientologist. I grew up with Will Smith, well, grew up watching him, and I’ve always adored him. But I absolutely cannot get behind his child rearing process or his religion. Or his scary wife.
Me too. Used to love him!
Yup! Will was the man. Handsome, goofy, successful…it sucks when your old favorites grow up and you don’t recognize them anymore.
Will — I do not think you were raised middle class if utilities were getting cut off.
Yeah, not to nitpick, but I thought the same. Middle class people can pay their heating bills. Why is he denying that he grew up poor?
Will was definitely middle-class. He grew up in a nice middle-class neighborhood, I’ve seen pictures, and his parents both had decent jobs.
But middle-class people can have times when finances are stretched, they don’t have the huge cushion that richer people do. Will didn’t say the utilities were cut off, just that they could be so they did contingency planning (kerosene heater). Although that might have been what his parents told him to keep him frugal- most people have kerosene heaters in case of a power outage in winter.
Maybe he’s afraid that people will say he really wasn’t that poor. That criticism tends to be thrown at celebrities when they talk about not having money, although I’m not sure, judging by his comments about his kids’ shoes, whether he’s that self-aware.
Middle class people juggle bills sometimes, so yeah I get what he is saying.
Knew people in middleclass neighbourhood both parents working and sometimes things would get turned off for a day, then one of them would run down write a check get it turned back on.
But.,, I don’t get why Jaden is pretending she’s without funds? That’s just so bogus, she knows full well she always has money and resources,
Maybe he means Jaden only has one pair of sneakers. IDK, but what I do know is this movie of his looks boring and like it won’t do so well.
Sometimes I will read these things that celebs say, and I will just think to myself “what in the HELL are they babbling about??” This is one of those times.
Sometimes? 😉
Yes.
“I have the spirit of desire…”
People will talk about meeting him for the rest of their lives…
And all that stuff about his kids.
Yeah. Sounds like he’s buying into his own hype. Sad. He used to be one of my favourite celebs and I still think he’s charismatic as hell but the more he talks, the more I SMH.
Jaden and his sister don’t need no stupid shoes folks, they can float around holding their breath and play in their own imaginary backyard up there.
It’s real easy not to be a “slave to money” when a) mommy and daddy are rich, and b) mommy and daddy do their best to make you into a movie star.
I was just about to say that.
Extremely rich people think they’re living modestly because they don’t show the same excess as their first equally rich neighbour.
And we’ve all read Jaden’s thoughts on his, err, spirituality. He’d probably make way more sense if he was all about money.
The kid is 16 years old, being a slave to money, means what? A bigger allowance?
“The poor know all about poverty–and only the morbid rich would find the topic glamorous” …gem from Sullivan’s Travels
+1
I see where Jaden gets that ridiculous furrowed-brow look. Last photo.
I love Will, he had an idea, went for it and worked his ass off to a successful career no one could see coming.
But my dislike for his kids is starting to bleed over into him which sucks. They’re just SUCH tools. Why is everyone to the limit with annoying these days? When I was a kid some celebs were mildly annoying, now others make you want to tear your hair out.
Oh, Will, we know in West Philadelphia you were born and raised and on the playground is where you spent most of your days chillin out maxin and relaxin shootin b ball outside of the school when a couple of thugs who were up to know good started makin trouble in your neighborhood you got in one little fight and your mom got scared and she said you’re moving with auntie and uncle in Bel-Air… isn’t that how the story goes?
Lol!!!
It’s pretty easy to not be a slave to money when you’ve never had to earn any yourself.
Ex ACT-ally.
Yeah this kid’s net worth is prob more than I will make in a lifetime.
Plus he is not the age of majority, so it’s not as if rich kid is expected to go work at Micky Ds, you know?
Will’s been putting this kid in his movies for years like its his version of an after school job
Exactly.
“He has refused to be a slave to money”… Or education…or common sense.
OK then. Let’s talk about Willow. I doubt very much she has 1 pair of shoes. And being a slave to money? Must be nice to have so much of it that you don’t have to be a slave. Try telling that to all of us working saps that have no choice.
he’s looking old all of a sudden
Everything in Hollywood is SO FREAKING FAKE.
WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? Are you really humans??
Hahahahahahaha! The delusion is strong in this family!
What about the pair of shoes he had in Hitch 2: Son of a Hitch?
(sorry couldn’t resist – for any parks and rec fans)
Well, the kid can’t act so it doesn’t look like money from acting would be in his future anyway
LOL riggggghhhht, Will. Miss reality much?
When I hear rich people say things like that, I think of the line in that Elvis Costello song, “Was it a millionaire who said imagine no possessions? ” It’s easy to say you don’t need anything when you have everything.
What a stupid interview. Does he really think anyone is buying this?
Nothing pisses me off more than listening rich people talk about how money is unecessary. I have no trouble admitting I chose my career mostly because of the economical benefits it brings. The saying is ugly but true. Money can’t buy happiness but poverty can’t buy you shit. And yeah – I love money and want a fancy life. I’m vain like that. Sue me.
Yes, like a certain show on the OWN network which has very rich people who preach about their happiness is not related to their millions.
The comments about fame struck me as a little weird. I’m sure he has brightened people’s days, but I think that’s the extent of his influence. I don’t think they’ll talk about meeting him for the rest of their lives the same way they might talk about their wedding day or birth of their child.
This man gives me a serious dose of the shudders.
Maybe he throws the shoes away when he’s done with them haha, like they’re disposable.
Whilst reading that, I all of a sudden remembered the single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince “Summertime”. I’m pretty sure I had it on 7″ vinyl and it had “Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble” on B-side.
I loved it and listened to it whilst riding my bike and the sun was shining.
I mean, I didn’t listen to the vinyl on my bike. I didn’t have some weird set-up. But the song was great anyway…
Back in the day when DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were opening for Run DMC, I had a friend who worked at Def Jam. When they came to town, me and friend toured with the crew through a couple of cities. I got to hang with Will a couple of times. He was awesome, down to Earth and very smart. I’ll always remember how cool he was to the then college student me. But I’m sad now that he’s been converted into that crazy cult. Run, Will, run, go back to Philly!
I read the word “cult” completely wrong and thought “well, that escalated quickly…” 🙂
Also, feeling slightly jealous due to your story! 🙂
He was lovely. I got invited to Will’s 30th birthday a year or so later by same friend at Def Jam, but declined (yeah, I was crazy, but in college and couldn’t fly out to CA that week.) I’ll always have those memories, and I hope deep down Will hasn’t changed, or mores the point Scientology hasn’t warped his brain. He’s one of the nicer celebritis I met from that friend.
I love the oldest son, Trey, the one raised by his ex-wife at least half the time, so he didn’t get the full Jada/Will philosophy, like the other two. He is so handsome and down to earth.
His other two seem way out there, but I have to say that I loved the movie Will and Jaden did together when Jaden was younger. He’s a good little actor. Will was really great in it. The Pursuit of Happyness was the name of it. I didn’t misspell happiness. That’s the way they spelled it in the book and movie.
Trey Smith
http://cdn26.us3.fansshare.com/photo/treysmith/dj-ace-trey-smith-celebrates-his-st-birthday-with-his-father-will-smith-313000965.jpg
Yeah…his kids think “education is useless” but the kid can’t even spell “Christian” correctly (on his twitter handle).
:::WompWomp:::
I really don’t want to defend this kid but maybe he did that because Christian grey is taken and wanted the name – a lot of kids do that and add extra letters in a Twitter name. Or he may just be that bad at spelling.
The delusion is freaky.
WHEN JADEN HAS EVERYTHING and never knew what missing meals felt like, taking city buses or walking, wearing crummy clothes, having home haircuts, never seeing a dentist, only one pair of cheap shoes that cant be replaced when they fall apart, living in a homeless shelter when mom loses her job, well, of course Jaden wont be a slave to money. He doesnt know what it means to be without.
If hes hungry, someone makes him a sammy. He has a driver. He gets 100+ dollar haircuts so hes fly. His shoes are replaced when dirty. He sees a dentist and orthodontist. He lives in a nice house. He wears designer clothes.
These people are fools.
If Jaden only has one pair of shoes now, it’s because he threw out hundreds. That kid used to do three shoe changes a day. As for not being materialistic, that must be very new because he used to brag constantly on social media about all the stupidly expensive crap he was buying daily. Easy not to spend money when you’ve already bought everything you could possibly desire.
Years ago, he was a cool, articulate guy. Now he’s a rich idiot with a tenuous grasp on reality. Not only does your kid post photos of himself in several pairs of shoes, but they’re status symbol shoes, like Uggs. Would be nice for him to talk about his kids’ education, careers, SOMETHING, but they’re rich dilettantes and that’s all they are.